Shloka 31

Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share

Devanagari script

स्वकर्मभिर्मानवं संनिरुद्धं तीव्रान्धकारे नरके पतन्तम्‌ । महार्णवे नौरिव वायुयुक्ता दानं गवां तारयते परत्र

Transliteration

svakarmabhir mānavaṁ saṁniruddhaṁ tīvrāndhakāre narake patantam | mahārṇave naur iva vāyuyuktā dānaṁ gavāṁ tārayate paratra ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Seorang manusia, terbelenggu oleh perbuatannya sendiri dan jatuh ke neraka yang pekat oleh kegelapan, diseberangkan di alam sana oleh dāna sapi—laksana perahu di samudra raya yang, ditopang angin, mengantar ke seberang.

Word by Word

• स्वकर्मभिः: by (his) own actions
• स्वकर्मभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वकर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• मानवम्: a man, human being
• मानवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• संनिरुद्धम्: bound, restrained, confined
• संनिरुद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनिरुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तीव्रान्धकारे: in intense darkness
• तीव्रान्धकारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीव्र-अन्धकार
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पतन्तम्: falling
• पतन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: पतत्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• महार्णवे: in the great ocean
• महार्णवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-अर्णव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• नौः: a boat
• नौः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नौ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• वायुयुक्ता: provided with wind (as aid)
• वायुयुक्ता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायु-युक्त
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• दानम्: the gift, giving (charity)
• दानम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• गवाम्: of cows
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• तारयते: causes to cross, delivers
• Type: Verb
• Root: तॄ
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada, Causative

• परत्र: in the other world, hereafter
• परत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परत्र

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• naraka (hell)
• mahārṇava (great ocean)
• nauḥ (boat)
• vāyu (wind)
• go-dāna (gift of cows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that charitable giving—specifically go-dāna (the gifting of cows), praised as a high form of dāna—can rescue a person from the dire consequences of their own karma, functioning as a means of deliverance in the afterlife.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana states a moral illustration: a man bound by his deeds is depicted as falling into a dark hell, and go-dāna is compared to a wind-driven boat that carries someone across the vast ocean—an image for being carried safely beyond suffering to the farther shore.